Anaphylaxis is a rare, but potentially life-threatening emergency. Evidence from the United Kingdom suggests that incidence may be increasing rapidly. Common triggers of anaphylaxis include a variety of foods, drugs and insect venoms.
H1-antihistamines are commonly used for the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis although the evidence underpinning this treatment is unclear. We therefore conducted a systematic review of the literature searching key databases for high quality published and unpublished material on this subject; in addition, we contacted experts in this area and relevant pharmaceutical companies.
Our searches failed to retrieve any randomized controlled trials on this subject. We conclude there is no evidence from randomized controlled trials to support the use of H1-antihistamines in the emergency management of anaphylaxis.